Alien: Covenant Red Band Clip: A Monster is Born

A harrowing new clip from Alien: Covenant gives a glimpse at the birth of a monster. Ridley Scott has returned to direct his first proper Alien film since the 1979 original, and it has a chance to return to the same unflinching violence that made the first Alien unforgettable. The franchise’s iconic alien creatures certainly look scary, but the way they are born makes them that much more frightening. Beginning with the infamous “chest burster” scene in the original Alien, Xenomorphs have violated and killed their human hosts throughout the series.

You can expect more gruesome casualties in Alien: Covenant, which will introduce the new “Neomorph” alien creatures. They appear to have a similar way of growing and being born, with a few differences. A new clip from Covenant gives a bit of an extended glimpse into what’s going to happen when a Neomorph is born, and the results look nothing short of terrifying.

20th Century Fox U.K. released the clip on Wednesday. You can watch it in the above video. In the clip, Karine (Carmen Ejogo) is trapped in an exam room with a sickly crew member who is violently convulsing. Faris (Amy Seimetz) rushes to the room, where Karine begs her to “Let me out.” What appears to be a newborn Neomorph begins to burst out of the crew member’s back as the clip ends. The creature itself is not shown, but the tone and pacing of the scene show how scary it could be.

Neomorphs have been revealed in first looks via promotional images, and there are glimpses in the red band trailer. But one notable difference is that this creature bursts out of its host’s back rather than through the chest. The newborn Neomorph also appears to be much larger than a newborn Xenomorph. The Neomorphs also reportedly have connections to Prometheus, which could be explained in the film’s opening sequence.

This brief clip may be all you need to see in order to know that Alien: Covenant will be far scarier than Prometheus and has the potential to recapture the visceral terror of the original Alien. The monsters’ distinctive look and uniquely unsettling threat to the Covenant crew members could provide plenty of gory thrills. With some fresh twists infused into the sequel, there’s reason to be confident that Covenant can breathe new life into the franchise.

The new clip, however, still isn’t showing much at all of the new Neomorphs. It’s unclear whether the new monsters will measure up to the fearsome legacy of the much-celebrated Xenomorphs in Alien: Covenant. But it’s Scott behind the cameras once again, and if there’s any director who can terrify audiences like it’s 1979 all over again, it’s the man who created that terror in the first place.